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Rescue officials say a group of inmates on a prison work crew dove into a fast-moving, frigid Washington state river to save three young brothers who were dumped in the water after their canoe capsized.

KPTV reports the inmate crew from Larch Corrections Center was finishing their work for the day near the river when they heard the children's screams.

"We just thought it was some kids screaming until we seen their two heads bobbing in the water with the canoe upside down," Nelson Pettis, a member of the crew told KPTV. "They were coming down over flooded Salmon Creek. It was raging pretty fast."